The Girl With The Tattoo

64. you didn't know?

Sophie

Addison asked me to meet her in her dorm room and I immediately knew that she wanted to know what happened on my date with Tyler. I know that she was optimistic about it so I'm kind of nervous to tell her that it didn't go well.

"So, how are you?" She asks me as I walk into the room.

"Yeah, I'm good."

I sit down beside her on her bed, waiting for her to start to ask questions. She looks at me, a smirk on her face.

"What?" I ask her, already knowing what she wants to talk about.

"Oh, come on!" She says "So... how did it go?"

I roll my eyes "I knew that was why you asked me to meet you here."

"I just want to know how it went! I literally couldn't stop thinking about it last night! I even studied to take my mind off of it and I never study!"

I laugh at how invested she is in my love life. Even though it's slightly strange, I know that she just wants the best for me. Plus, it's nice to have someone that actually cares about me for once. Usually, I'm surrounded by people who just pretend that they care about my life.

"You're so strange." I joke.

"Come on, at least I care." She giggles "So tell me, how did it go?"

I sigh "Actually, I don't think they'll be a second date..."

"No way! What happened?" She seems surprised that it didn't go well.

"We just didn't get along, I guess." I leave out some important details as to why it went downhill "We're just too different and I can't imagine us ever having anything in common. We literally couldn't find anything that we both enjoyed, he just likes different stuff."

"Shit." She looks like she's trying to process everything "I didn't think the both of you would be that different."

"Yeah, we're complete opposites."

"So, is that everything?" She asks me "There wasn't anything else?"

It's almost like she knows that I'm lying. Of course there's the fact that he's definitely homophobic but if I were to tell Addison that then I feel like I would also have to tell her about my sexuality. I also don't know if that would make her uncomfortable as I've heard rumours about her being confused about hers.

I hesitate "W- well there was one more thing..."

She leans forward slightly "What was it?"

I sigh "I don't know if it's important."

"If it convinced you not to go on a second date then it probably is." She says "I gotta know why I shouldn't try to match him with any other girls."

All of a sudden, I decide to tell her the truth "Well, he was actually really homophobic... And it's just, I didn't like that."

"No way! He was?!" She asks me, a shocked expression on her face.

I nod slowly "Y-yeah, he was."

"That's so wrong! But I honestly didn't expect that from him. To me, he always seemed like a pretty chill guy. He didn't strike me as the homophobic type but I guess I didn't really know him that well. I'm just a bit shocked to be honest. I mean, I only suggested that you go on a date with him because I thought that he was kinda sweet."

I reply with "I don't know, I guess he just made me feel a little uncomfortable. He made a lot of comments that just didn't sit right with me."

"That's such a shame." She actually looks quite disappointed about it "I really thought the both of you would've hit it off."

There's a silence in the room as I think about whether it would be a good idea to come out to her or not. I don't want it to ruin our friendship if I tell her about my sexuality but I also don't want to keep it from her any longer. And because I hate lying to people, I decide to just let it all out.

"Addison... y- you know that I'm bisexual, right?"

She looks up at me, a surprised look on her face "Wait, what? No, I didn't know."

She doesn't say anything else so I ask her this "I-is that okay? I mean, it doesn't make things weird between us, does it?"

She giggles "Of course not! Why would it?! Who you like doesn't matter to me!"

"Oh." I say, relieved.

I think about bringing up the rumours about her that I've heard but I realise that it would definitely be rude if I did. Plus, I figured if she was into girls then this would probably be the best time for her to tell me. But, surprisingly, she says nothing.

Maybe the rumours aren't true.

"Yeah, the only person that I've ever dated was a girl..." I admit to her, leaving out all of the details about Lexi.

"Oh." She seems surprised by that "Things just didn't work out?"

I shake my head "She turned out to be a completely different person than the one I fell in love with. In the end, I didn't even recognise her. Honestly, she really broke my heart and that's the reason I'm so scared to date again. I just don't want to get hurt like that again."

She seems to understand. She grabs hold of my hand and gives me a warm and comforting smile.

"I'm sorry. And if it makes you feel you feel any better, I knew a girl like that once. But fuck her! She didn't deserve you anyway!"

I smile to show that I appreciate her trying to make me feel better "Thanks, Ad."

All of a sudden, her mood changes and she looks excited to tell me about something. She quickly grabs her phone before beginning to completely ramble about something.

"I just remembered something." She announces "There's this online site, it's for dating, and all of the girls here are on it. I mean, I haven't actually used it myself but I've heard really great things about it. What I'm saying is that you should totally make a profile! There are so many hot guys who live locally that have their own profiles on there! You should totally check it out!"

I widen my eyes as I try to process all of the information that she's spitting at me "W-what's it called?"

"It's, uhm, Datingforfree.com." She tells me.

I giggle "What sort of name is that?"

"I know it's weird but just trust me!" She says, clearly wanting me to give this a chance "My friend Gabby is on it and she told me that she's been hooking up with some really hot guys!"

"S-should I make a profile then? I mean, if it's as good as what your friend is saying?" I ask her for advice.

"Yeah, you totally should!" She encourages me "Just go home tonight, search for it and see who you meet on there. I mean, what's there to lose?"

"Yeah, you're right!" I smile enthusiastically, excited about this new idea that she's come up with.

"I'm always right." She winks at me "Okay, I have to go meet someone but I'll catch up with you later. I wanna know all of the details!"

I roll my eyes playfully "Of course I'll tell you everything. I always do."

I've never really thought about talking to guys online. I'm an awkward person so trying to make conversation with strangers is not a skill that I've managed to master yet. But I've gained a lot of confidence over the years and I'm ready to take a leap and to try something new. Plus, I might meet someone I like on there.

But if I happen to meet someone that I like, I know that I'd have to keep it a secret from my parents, at least for a little while. They'd definitely try to talk me out of it as they're so cautious when it comes to who I'm interacting with online.

But I'm sure I can keep this a secret from them...